


The Strongest Storm Guardian: Dragon Style

by Wingzrooke



Series: SSG: Dragon Style [2]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: And also a Sky, Animal Metaphors, Clans, Dragon Hibari Clan, Dragon Triads, Dragon!Fon, Dragon!Kyoya, Dragons, F/M, Fem!Tsunayoshi is Tsunako, Human!Tsunako, Multi, Namimori belongs to elementary schoolers, Not a continuation of story: The Strongest Storm Guardian, Pack, Romantic Soulmates, Soul Bond, Soulmates, Tsuna is a Cloud too!, no beta we die illiterates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:54:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25139554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wingzrooke/pseuds/Wingzrooke
Summary: The instant he saw her, his mark burned around his arm and the left side of his chest. His nostrils flared as wide as they could in human form, the air he inhaled through nose and mouth seeming to coat his senses like the most wonderful thing he’d ever smelled or tasted. His gaze sharpened, despite his pupils dilating, focused entirely on her. Although Kyoya was still beside him, Fon didn’t even register his nephew anymore. The girl met his gaze head-on, the smile fading as she registered him.“Oh.” She whispered softly, eyes widening. The back of his mind was weeping, half was weeping because she was so much younger than him. Barely starting elementary school. The other half was weeping because he’d finally met her and he was cursed into the form of an infant.The Mafia and the Chinese triads are not the same thing in different parts of the world. The Triads have a secret they keep, guarded jealously against any outsider. Fon and the Hibari clan are a part of this secret. Unlike most of the world most of the Triad and the Hibari family are comprised of 1/2dragon 1/2human people! And they have destined soulmates.Fon has been waiting almost a century to meet his mate.
Relationships: Fon/Sawada Tsunayoshi
Series: SSG: Dragon Style [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1845592
Comments: 31
Kudos: 381
Collections: More or Less than Human in the Katekyo Hitman Reborn worlds





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my new story! 
> 
> Despite the title, this story is not a continuation, re-write, and does not even have a similar plot to my other story: The Strongest Storm Guardian. I actually ended up being really unhappy with that story part-way through, because it focuses a lot more on all the other guardians than Fon, which was totally not my intent. So, I’m starting a completely different story (not even similar plot, hopefully), and trying to make sure Fon gets to stick around more this time! 
> 
> This story may be a series of one-shots, or it may be a bunch of chapters. Haven't quite decided yet.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, not a new chapter, just trying to get artwork figured out/added.

* * *

* * *

As a rule, the Hibari family usually homeschooled their children via a group of tutors. Kyoya’s mother, however, disagreed with this plan. She’d put her foot down and talked his father into making Kyoya attend the local public school to better ‘socialize’ Kyoya. Kyoya scowled down at his empty hands. It was true that Kyoya doesn’t have much use for regular humans, herd animals that they are. It just didn’t seem fair to Kyoya that he had to leave his weapons behind just because the humans didn’t have any claws of their own. Currently he was crouched up on-top of the shoe rack in the corner where he’d been sent for ‘punishment’. His black dress shoes squeaked slightly on the wood of the rack. Kyoya thrust his empty hands into the pockets of his small black slacks, and buried his face into the collar of his white button-up shirt which caused a few strands of his black hair to fall over his eyes. As being here meant the other children weren’t allowed near him, Kyoya thought it more of a reward than anything.

He looked up as a ruckus nearby caught his attention. A baby female herbivore was yelling and screaming as the sensei tried to pull the child off its mother’s leg. Kyoya felt one eyebrow rise in surprise when the adult herbivore’s strength proved unequal to the task, and they were forced to summon a second sensei to pry the girl off. The first sensei tucked the girl under his arm while both teachers bid the mother goodbye. After the adult herbivore vanished from sight, the sensei shrieked and dropped the child.

“Will bite you!” The girl warned, and Kyoya immediately reclassified the girl to baby carnivore. Well, at least he wasn’t alone in this herbivore’s habitat.

“Sawada-chan! We don’t bite!” The sensei exclaimed, and the girl’s scoff echoed Kyoya’s own. Obviously they didn’t bite, they were herbivores. “You will join Hibari-kun in time-out for bad behavior.” The sensei continued, oblivious to the mutiny on the female baby carnivore’s face. The teacher Picked the girl up once more and turned to stride quickly over to the corner where Kyoya crouched. The sensei yelped when they noticed Kyoya had climbed up on top of the shoe rack, instead of standing in the corner like they’d ordered.

“Hibari-kun! Get down this instant!” The sensei called, and Kyoya scowled at the teacher before reluctantly climbing down. The second sensei sighed and dragged two child-sized metal chairs over.

“Sit!” The first sensei demanded, pointed at one of the chairs. Kyoya bared his teeth at the adult herbivore, but did as directed. For now. The first sensei plunked the female baby carnivore down into the second chair.

“Now you two stay there until we tell you otherwise.” The first sensei huffed before turning away to greet other new arrivals.

“It won’t be very long, don’t worry.” The second sensei tried to console before they, too, had to head off to greet new children. As soon as the teachers’ backs were turned, the girl stuck her tongue out at them. Kyoya snickered quietly, and the girl’s attention turned to him.

“Hibari Kyoya, carnivore.” He informed her challengingly.

“Sawada Tsuna. Alpha carnivore.” She retorted immediately, and Kyoya snorted.

“Alpha? You’re a baby.” He taunted. The girl narrowed her eyes at him.

“Am not!” She growled.

“Are too!”

“Behave, you two!” One of the senseis called from across the room. The girl sniffed and turned her face pointedly away from him. Kyoya brooded. She wouldn’t get away with calling herself an Alpha! A short time later the senseis called everyone together and split the group into two separate classes. Originally Kyoya was assigned to a different class than the female baby carnivore, Tsuna, but he grabbed another kid by the shirt on his back and swung the kid around until the kid was in his group and Kyoya was now in Tsuna’s class. The kid started to whine at Kyoya, but Kyoya bared his teeth at the baby herbivore. The kid shut up and Kyoya was satisfied.

The first half of the morning passed too slowly for Kyoya, but eventually their first break arrived. The instant they were outside in the yard, Kyoya tracked down the baby carnivore. He’d surveyed the rest of the class already and found a distinct lack of other carnivores. He was not going to allow the girl to leave him alone amongst this herd of baby herbivores. He just needed to make sure she knew her place in the hierarchy first. He spotted her stalking away from the playground, looking irritated. He loped after her, grabbing the back of her shirt once he caught up.

“Are too a baby.” He informed her. Feeling the tug on her shirt, the girl paused and then spun and punched Kyoya right in the mouth!

“AM NOT!” She snarled, tackling him to the ground while Kyoya stared in surprise at the human carnivore. He knew she was human, because she smelled like a human. But even human carnivores didn’t challenge Kyoya’s _kind_. Those thoughts distracted him, and he paid for it. The girl had knocked him down, causing him to let go of her shirt, and then flipped him over. The female carnivore sat on him and grabbed the back of Kyoya’s head, grinding his face into the dirt.

“Say ‘Alpha’, Kyo-kun!” She demanded, and he snarled. He could practically _hear_ the smirk in her voice. Kyoya attempted to jump his feet up under his body as he’d been taught, or to buck her off. Neither were successful. Knees pinned his arms, so he couldn’t reach around and hit her or pull her off. While Kyoya tried to dislodge her, the girl’s other hand gripped the back of his neck. Instantly he felt himself go limp instinctively.

“Say ‘Alpha’, Kyo-kun.” She demanded.

“Alpha.” He growled grudgingly. As soon as he submitted and gave her the title, the girl climbed off him.

“See, not so hard.” She grinned, patting his head as Kyoya sat up. He looked up at her and was a little stunned to find little sparkles and dancing flowers in the air surrounding her. Subtly he tried to catch one of the sparkles close to his hand, but his hand passed right through it. “Now that you acknowledge me, you can join my pack. I need a Beta anyways.” The girl announced. Kyoya considered biting her, now that she couldn’t surprise attack him. A shudder traced its way down his spine, his instincts rebelling against the thought of challenging someone he’d just submitted too. Time for a change of subject, he thought.

“Clan.” Kyoya corrected with a sigh. Who would have thought there would be a human girl that followed carnivore traditions? Did she really expect him to leave his Clan with his mother and father? She’d have to challenge his parents, the head of his clan, and even if she somehow won, his mother would call her brother, uncle Fon, who nobody could beat. She wouldn’t be able to win him away from his clan. It just wasn’t possible.

“Clan?”

“You said your pack, but that’s not the right word. It should be ‘Clan’, not ‘pack’.” He informed her. The girl shook her head.

“No, cuz Clan is formed of family. Pack is a different group. Pack are people you spend time with outside the Clan. Pack works together, plays together, learns together, hunts together, that sort of thing. But being in a Pack doesn’t change your family or Clan.” The girl denied. Kyoya tilted his head to the side, considering her words.

“Acceptable.” He decided, mentally shuffling things around to fit the new word and definition. It had never occurred to him before that he could have both a family group and a group of people he tolerated outside his family. Strangely, the idea appealed to him. Even if only in his thoughts, Kyoya was forced to acknowledge his mother was right. He _was_ learning new things at school. Important things, even. That didn’t mean he was going to let her make all the choices, though. Even if she was the Alpha.

“Only carnivores in our pack.” He demanded. If he was going to be a _Beta_ in this girl’s pack, he wasn’t going to be forced to herd with herbivores. The very thought made him want to take a chunk out of something (or someone).

“Omnivores too. We’ll need a couple of thirds to make sure the herbivores know our rules, and to do the boring stuff for us.” Alpha-Tsuna immediately rejected. Kyoya huffed, but allowed that. His father had Kusakabe-oji (Uncle) to do paperwork for him, and his mother had Kusakabe-oba (aunt) to help keep other members of the clan in line, so he knew the idea was sound.

“Fine, but no herbivores.” He demanded, and the girl rolled her eyes.

“Course not!” She agreed, and Kyoya felt his shoulders relax from where they’d been aggressively hunched up. “And we’ll need some warriors who can help watch our place when we’re not there.” She added, and Kyoya tilted his head to the side again.

“To protect our territory?” He clarified, having heard his parents talk about something similar often enough. Kusakabe, both oba and oji (aunt and uncle), helped his parents do the same. There were also lower-ranked members of the clan that patrolled their Clan lands to keep out invaders.

“Yeah!” She nodded enthusiastically.

“What’s our pack’s territory?” If Kyoya was going to be responsible for helping to keep their territory safe from other carnivores, he wanted to know what he was responsible for.

“Namimori! We’re still little, so just Namimori. I bet someday we’ll be big enough to have all of Japan as our teriori!” She proclaimed, one little fist punching the air.

“Terri- _tory_.” Kyoya corrected with a sigh.

“Uh-huh. ‘swhat I said.” She agreed. “Now we need to test the kids in our class to see if any of them are omnivores. Cuz omnivores like to hide among the herd until they strike.” Alpha-Tsuna directed, and miming a snake with her hand and arm when she said ‘strike’.

“So we’ll have to force them to stop hiding. I hope there’s a couple omnivores in our class. Otherwise we’ll have to do everything ourselves.” She huffed. Kyoya agreed with this idea, and thought ‘testing’ the kids in their class sounded like fun.

Sometime later, Kyoya was happy to say ‘testing’ the others was fun. The senseis and other kids seemed to disagree. Unfortunately it looked like there were no herbivores in their class. On the flip side, Kyoya was happy to see that his Alpha was just as good as he was at taking down herbivores. It seemed she had maybe the beginnings of formal training, at least. But she was fast, had good aim, and she _didn’t stop_. Or at least, she didn’t until the senseis came over and pulled each of them off the last two of their classmates. The rest of the herbivore children were spread out in small clumps around the playground, still laying wherever Kyoya or Tsuna dropped them. Kyoya wasn’t sure why the adults were mad, they hadn’t bitten anyone and the baby herbivores were all still alive.

Nevertheless, one of the teachers marched Kyoya and Tsuna inside to the principal’s office. They were made to sit in chairs just outside said office while the teacher went inside. Tsuna huffed next to him, little arms crossed. The room they currently sat in did not inspire happy feelings in Kyoya. The floor was a boring brown shiny plastic-like stuff, the ceiling had some sort of white cardboard-like panels, all topped off with basic florescent lights. The walls were a boring white as well, the doorways made of metal painted blue.

“I guess there aren’t any omnivores or baby omnivores in our class. We’ll have to test the other class tomorrow.” Tsuna declared quietly, and Kyoya’s scowl morphed into a smirk. This whole pack-thing might pan out after all. Tsuna was proving herself a good Alpha already, setting goals and giving him something to look forward to tomorrow. He nodded to show he agreed. The playground sensei came back from the office.

“The principal is calling your parents to come pick you up. You are to stay here until your parents get you.” The sensei informed them. “Ms. Tanaka, the secretary at the desk just there, will watch you until they get here.” She added, pointing a short way in front of them. Kyoya eyed the new herbivore skeptically. The woman didn’t even look up from her computer while the sensei introduced her. He doubted the adult female herbivore would be up to the challenge of keeping them here if Tsuna and he didn’t want to. He turned to meet Tsuna’s gaze and saw the same thoughts reflected in her eyes. His Alpha shrugged. The sensei left while they were silently communicating.

Kyoya and Tsuna turned to eye the woman once more, Kyoya silently planning their attack, when the door opened once more and Kusakabe-oji (uncle Kusakabe) entered briskly. Kyoya pouted slightly. Now he wouldn’t be able to see if Alpha and he were up to taking down an adult herbivore on their own!

“Kyoya.” Kusakabe-oji (Uncle Kusakabe) greeted shortly. Kyoya glanced up to meet his uncle’s brown eyes. The man wore the traditional Hibari-clan branch familys’ regent hairstyle, his black hair gleaming slightly and not a strand out of place. He was tall. Not just because he was an adult though, because Kyoya’s uncle was even taller than Kyoya’s father. The man wore the adult-version of the Hibari uniform. A white shirt underneath a hip-length black jacket lined in red, black slacks, black socks, and black dress shoes. On his collar was a small pin in the shape of a dragon which wrapped around the Hibari crest. All of this he took in within seconds.

“Oji” (uncle) Kyoya replied just as briefly. Kyoya noted Kusakabe-oji’s eyes flick questioningly to the girl sitting beside Kyoya. Before Kyoya could introduce his new Alpha, the girl spoke.

“I thought the sensei said our parents were coming to get us.” His Alpha demanded suspiciously. One of the man’s eyebrows raised in surprise. Kusakabe-oji’s gaze flicked from her to Kyoya once before settling back on the girl.

“Kyoya’s parents had me waiting nearby. We figured Kyoya might have a hard time adjusting. It only makes sense to be ready if he needed to go home.” Kusakabe-oji (uncle) replied with a smile for the little girl. “And who are you?” He wondered.

“Kusakabe-oji is part of my Clan.” Kyoya informed his Alpha proudly. “He serves as Otou-san’s (Father’s) Beta.” He explained to Tsuna, who calmed immediately. Kyoya answered Tsuna’s question first because she was the Alpha in his pack while his uncle was only a Beta, even though he was Clan. In his mind, Tsuna out-ranked Kusakabe-oji.

“Oh, that’s alright then.” She sighed agreeably.

“Kusakabe-oji, This is Alpha Tsuna-chan. She is the Alpha of my pack.” He informed his uncle.

“Pack? Don’t you mean Clan?” His uncle chuckled, and Kyoya shook his head. He was proud to explain the difference to his uncle, and teach the man what Kyoya had learned today.

“I’m learning a lot at school.” He informed his uncle seriously.

“So why did you attack the other children, then, if you like school?” Kusakabe-oji (uncle) sighed.

“We-elll….there aren’t any other carnivores in our class, but we need more people in our pack, so we were testing to see if there were any omnivores hiding in the herd of herbivores.” Tsuna told the older man seriously. Kusakabe gave a startled laugh. Tsuna blinked at him, startled herself at his reaction. Kyoya scowled at the man. It had been a good plan!

“Maybe I can help with that, I’ve got a son who is currently being homeschooled. We were talking about having him join Kyoya at school, if he had trouble adjusting. If Kyoya would like, Tetsuya could join you and your ‘pack’.”

“Maybe. I’ll think about it. If Kyo-kun wants him to join.” Tsuna declared, and Kyoya felt a small warmth fill him at the idea that she would consider a member of his clan _only_ if Kyoya wanted him to join. The girl’s term of address caused Kusakabe to startle, and Kyoya glanced at the man from the corner of his eye for a moment. Since the man didn’t say anything, Kyoya turned his attention fully back to Tsuna.

“You should test him first. Everyone who joins our Pack has to be tested first. You might not even like him.” Kyoya noted. Tsuna nodded firmly.

“Of course, but there’s no need to test someone if one of us doesn’t want them to join.” Tsuna pointed out.

“Then you should come home with us and meet Kusakabe-kun. See if you like him. I don’t mind if he joins. He’s an Omnivore like Kusakabe-oji.” Kyoya decided.

“Okay.” She agreed, standing up. Kyoya quickly followed suit, and Tsuna slipped one hand into his. Kyoya inhaled sharply in surprise, but Tsuna ignored the sound and started swinging their hands back and forth.

“Woah there, we should probably get Tsuna-chan’s parents get here and get permission for her to visit first.” Kusakabe-oji hurriedly interjected. Tsuna tilted her head slightly and gave him a puzzled look.

“Kaa-san won’t mind. We can just leave a message for her with the secretary.” Tsuna assured Kusakabe-oji, but the man frowned and shook his head.

“Sorry, but you can’t come with us unless your parents agree.” Kusakabe informed her firmly. Tsuna huffed in irritation.

“But then I’ll never get to come, cuz I only have Kaa-san (mom) and no Tou-san(dad).” Her words made Kusakabe startle, but he quickly composed himself.

“Then we’ll need your Kaa-san’s permission.” As Kusakabe spoke, Kyoya noticed someone walking into the office. He thought it was the same female adult herbivore Alpha came in with that morning, but wasn’t sure.

“Kaa-san! I want to go to Kyo-kun’s house and meet his cousin. Can I?” Tsuna called out to the woman, who turned away from where she’d been approaching the secretary to come towards them instead.

“Tsuna-chan’s made a friend? How wonderful! Of course you can go play at his house.” The adult herbivore exclaimed, and Kusakabe-oji frowned. Kyoya wondered what it was that upset his uncle.

“Don’t you want to know who we are first?” Kusakabe-oji asked. The woman looked at him, surprised.

“Ara?” The woman asked, head tilted to the side slightly in surprise. Kyoya’s uncle sighed and introduced himself anyways.

“I am Kusakabe Shun, and this is my nephew, Hibari Kyoya.” Kusakabe-oji told them woman.

“It’s nice to meet you. I am Sawada Nana, and this is my daughter, Tsunako-chan.” Tsuna’s mother responded automatically. Then an awkward silence fell.

“Can we go now?” Tsuna sighed, and Kusakabe-oji sighed.

“Sure kid, we can go now.” He agreed. Tsuna followed Kyoya’s uncle, tugging Kyoya’s hand to move him forward. Kyoya, who had watched silently but impatiently, followed eagerly. He wanted to see if she could defeat Kusakabe without the element of surprise. If Kusakabe defeated her, then he would know that he should challenge her again. Because Kusakabe always lost to Kyoya during their spars. On the other hand, if she won, then he would know she might be able to defeat Kyoya without getting the jump on him.

Both children followed Kusakabe Shun to the Hibari Clan Compound, which was across town and up at the base of one of the nearby mountains. It pleased Kyoya to note that when they reached the gates to the compound, his new Alpha wasn’t even out of breath. Kyoya’s uncle also looked surprised to see she’d made the walk both without complaint and still having energy to spare afterwards. The young female alpha bounced impatiently on her toes as Kusakabe-oji keyed in the code into the gate. Once it opened, the older man led the two to the building set aside for schooling. Kyoya tried to see the compound and school-building through Tsuna’s eyes, which were wide and taking everything in with a little bit of wonder. All the buildings in the compound were traditional-looking on the outside. Parts of the inside were traditional as well, with most inner walls being made of paper and wood, and a wooden floor.

The classroom Kusakabe-oji led them to was more modern. A row of desks with laptops on them, as well as space in between each for the students to do paperwork and projects. Kusakabe the younger was at one of these desks, doing something on the laptop. He didn’t even look up when the door was slid back in its frame, allowing entry to the three. Kusakabe was like a mini-clone of his father, except that he wore the longer form of the jacket, denoting him as a juvenile member of the Clan.

“Tetsuya!” Kusakabe-oji called, and Kusakabe looked up. When he spotted Kyoya, the boy smiled.

“Otou-san, Kyoya-sama!” He greeted happily before he closed the lid of the laptop and quickly moved to join them. Once he stood before them, Kusakabe bowed to Kyoya. “Did you need something?” He wondered, which Kyoya thought was fair, because it was almost always Kusakabe tracking down Kyoya and not the other way round. He knew the moment Kusakabe spotted the female Alpha, and more importantly their joined hands, because Kusakabe’s eyebrows both rose in surprise.

“Outside.” Kyoya demanded, turning and leading the way back. They left Kusakabe-oji behind. Likely the old man would go to warn others there is a regular human in the compound. If he hadn’t texted on the way. Kyoya hadn’t been paying attention to the old man then. He felt Kusakabe’s eyes burning into his back in curiosity, but Kyoya ignored that. He set a brisk pace and they were quickly outside once more.

“Spar.” Kyoya ordered Kusakabe, releasing his hold on Tsuna’s hands. Kusakabe threw one last curious look at Tsuna, but obligingly turned to face Kyoya, settling down into a stance.

“No. Me.” Tsuna warned Kusakabe, who startled but pivoted his stance to face her at Kyoya’s agreeing nod. To be honest, Kyoya rather expected Kusakabe to win quickly. As he’d seen earlier, the female Alpha didn’t have much formal training. Kusakabe was a year older than Kyoya, and had been training since he could walk. Then again, so had Kyoya. The fight was over about as quickly as Kyoya had expected, but it wasn’t the female Alpha who lost.

Tsuna got down into her own stance, which looked a lot looser than Kusakabe’s, despite being in a different style it still seemed unstable. Kusakabe attacked first, taking the fight seriously as he should. Kyoya was glad to see Kusakabe wasn’t acting like an herbivore and going gently on her because she’s female. That was the sort of attitude he wouldn’t allow in his Clan or his right-hand. He led with a right hook, but Tsuna brushed it away like a bothersome fly. Too fast to follow, she countered with a punch of her own. Kyoya didn’t even see the hit land, but he could guess from the way it knocked Kusakabe into the air. Kusakabe landed on his back, unlike how he’d normally flip himself to land on his feet. To Kyoya’s shock, Kusakabe seemed to have been knocked unconscious. Kyoya stalked over to Kusakabe and prodded him in the ribs with one shoe. The older boy didn’t so much as twitch or grumble.

“I don’t know if he passed or not…what do you think, Kyo-kun?” The female Alpha debated.

“He is more omnivore than carnivore. I believe he will be an asset.” Kyoya responded immediately. Tsuna knelt down and gently patted at Kusakabe’s face until the boy woke.

“Wha….?” Kusakabe mumbled.

“You lost.” Kyoya informed his Clanmate dryly. Kusakabe sat up in surprise. Kyoya was the only one within three years of their age in the Clan who could defeat Kusakabe. The older boy looked at Tsuna in surprise and respect. He stood up, dusted himself off, and bowed to the Female Alpha.

“You will be joining us at Namimori Elementary tomorrow, serving as our third. This is the female Alpha of the Namimori Pack, Sawada Tsunako. I am Beta, and you are the third. Congratulations, Omnivore.” Kyoya decreed, and Kusakabe looked bewildered, but bowed to them both once more.

“You can call me Tsuna-chan, everyone does.” The female alpha informed Kusakabe, who bowed once more to her.

“Tsuna-sama, please feel free to call me Kusakabe or Tetsuya-kun.” The older boy returned. Tsuna smiled at Kusakabe, and little sparkles and dancing flowers appeared in the air around her once more. Kyoya was startled to note that Kusakabe looked like he’d been struck dumb.

“Thankyou, Tets-kun. I look forward to working together.” Tsuna grinned, giving the boy a nod of respect.

* * *

Kusukabe Shun strode briskly down the hall of the main house towards the office. He hoped the news he had would please both the Hibari parents. He was certain Kyoya’s mother would be pleased, sending Kyoya to public school was her idea, after all. It was Hizashi, the Alpha of the Hibari Clan, that Shun wasn’t certain of. There was a job to do, though, so Shun didn’t let his stride falter. It took him about five minutes to cross from the front door to the office. Outside the door he paused for barely a moment to brace himself, then knocked.

“Enter.” Hizashi called from inside, and Shun gently slid the door open.

“Shun, welcome back.” Akari Hibari greeted warmly before Shun had even finished entering the door. “How is Kyoya?” She asked him. At these words Hizashi Hibari, who had been doing some paperwork at his desk, set aside said paperwork and rested his folded hands upon the desk. The man’s black eyes turned to rest upon Kusakabe, and Shun felt the weight of the gaze.

“Kyoya seems to have enjoyed his day, although I can’t say the same for most of the humans.” Shun replied wryly. Hizashi quirked one eyebrow in question and Shun elaborated.

“Kyoya has made a new friend, upon whom he has bestowed the title of ‘Alpha’ after a test of some sort. They have formed a ‘pack’, which he informed me is like a Clan but not. It seems to be a group of people he is willing to associate with outside of school and which will protect their territory. Which seems to be Namimori. After forming their ‘pack’, they then proceeded to ‘test’ the rest of their classmates.” Kusakabe reported dryly.

“A _friend!”_ Akari gasped in delight at the exact same time as Hizashi inquired:

“A _test?_ Dare I ask what kind?”

“They claim to have been trying to ‘draw out’ any ‘hiding omnivores’ in their class. According to the principal, they beat up the entire rest of their class. Kyoya’s new friend used the same animal-kingdom classification system Kyoya uses. I believe she is—” Shun said, but was interrupted as Akari gasped:

“A girl? His new friend is a girl?!” She squealed happily. Hizashi sent his wife an amused look.

“Yes, Hibari-sama. As I was saying, I believe she is the one who instituted the term ‘omnivore’. Although Kyoya already used the word I have not heard him use it previously. Tetsuya has been labelled an ‘omnivore’ now, in case you were wondering. ” Akari laughed gently at the story Shun told them, and Hizashi looked intrigued.

“Kyoya is the only child of our Clan attending public school…” Hizashi mused thoughtfully, and Shun hid a wince. He just knew the question was coming, and he’d have to let Hizashi down… Sure enough, Hizashi asked “what Clan does the girl come from?” Shun carefully kept his face blank as he replied.

“None, as far as I know.” Both Hibari parents startled at this news.

“He made friends with a human? I’d never have thought it possible…” Hizashi murmured thoughtfully. Akari made a noise of agreement. Privately Shun agreed. If he hadn’t seen the two of them together with his own eyes, and confirmed the girl was human-smelling with his own nose, he wouldn’t have believe it possible either.

“This is wonderful!” Akari proclaimed happily. “Our little Kyoya, growing up and learning how to get along with others! I just knew sending him to school in town was the right thing to do!” She proclaimed, humming happily to herself.

“I’m not convinced.” Hizashi grumped.

“See for yourself, they’re just outside the school building.” Shun replied, gesturing to the window. Both of Kyoya’s parents moved over to the window and looked outside. They were startled to see Kyoya standing back a little from both Tetsuya and a girl. Tetsuya and the girl dropped into fighting stances, and almost too fast to track the spar was over. Hizashi gaped at the scene, watching the two younger children trying to bring Tetsuya around with mixed results.

“Maybe Tetsuya-kun was holding back?” Akari suggested, glancing at her husband from the corner of her eye.

“No, the girl was too fast for him.” Hizashi automatically critiqued. “I like her. We should have her join the boys for regular fighting lessons. Her form is sloppy.” He declared, caused both Shun and his wife to stare at him. “What?” He demanded, looking a little defensive.

“Nothing dear, I just didn’t think you’d be happy about Kyoya spending time with a human.” Akari soothed.

“Hmm.” Hizashi hummed back skeptically. “In any case, I would like to meet the girl.”

“Of course, Hibari-sama.” Kusukabe agreed, bowing. “I will bring her in at once.”

“No need, we’ll go outside.” Hizashi instructed.

“Ah, Hibari-sama, I have told Kyoya that Tetsuya will join him tomorrow at school if Kyoya wishes it. Both he and young Tsuna-chan seem to appreciate the idea. Kyoya is likely to desire Tetsuya moving to his school.” Shun informed Kyoya’s parents as they walked through the house.

“I thought you were only going to send Tetsuya to Namimori Elementary if Kyoya had a hard time adjusting?” Akari wondered. Shun nodded once.

“That was the plan. However, since the children indicated they wanted an ‘omnivore’ for their pack, I thought I’d head them off at the pass. They’ve only tested their own class, after all. I am hoping that sending Tetsuya with them will prevent a mass slaughter of their schoolmates in different classes.” Shun sighed dryly.

“I very much doubt having one additional friend and Clanmate will stop Kyoya from testing the rest of the school, now that the idea is in his mind.” Hizashi pointed out equally as dryly.

“We can only hope.” Shun shrugged.

When they got to where the children stood, they found Tetsuya silently getting to his feet and staring at the girl in wonder. The girl turned as she heard them approaching. All the adults present noted she hadn’t heard them until they were within the range of human hearing. She was smiling, and the adults felt a little stunned themselves. The sparkles and stars in the air around her didn’t help, either.

“Hello.” The little girl greeted.

“Hello, young one. I am Hibari Akari, Kyoya’s mother. What’s your name?” the Hibari matriarch introduced herself.

“Sawada Tsunako. You can call me Tsuna-chan, though.” Somehow the girl’s smile seemed to brighten as she spoke, and everyone there felt as though they couldn’t look away. Their gazes seemed magnetized to the girl, and Akari felt like she was the only person in the world while Tsuna-chan’s gaze was focused on her. It was a warm, touching feeling unlike any Akari had ever felt before.

“Feel free to call me Akari-san.” Akari choked out. “I believe you’ve already met Shun, and this is my Husband Hibari Hizashi.” The Hibari matriarch gamely continued.

“Nice to meet you.” Tsuna-chan chirped at Hizashi, turning her eyes to the man in question. Hizashi nodded to the girl.

“You as well.” He drawled. “I was impressed by your speed during your spar with Tetsuya.” He added, and the girl flushed slightly.

“Thank you, Hibari-san.” She murmured, ducking her head slightly. “My form is terrible, though.” She added in a grumble.

“Yes. Would you like to join Tetsuya-kun and Kyoya in training? We have excellent senseis to train the boys in fighting.” Hizashi offered, and the girl smiled once more.

“I would like that, thank you Hibari-san.”

“Here is a card with our phone number. Have your parents call us and we can set up a schedule.” Akari ordered, extending a small black card with white writing towards Tsuna-chan. Tsuna-chan took the card.

“Okay. I’ll give it to Kaa-san.” She agreed.

“Good. Now, why don’t you children come along to the dining room and we’ll set you all up with lunch?” Akari suggested. The children all responded enthusiastically to this idea, even Kyoya unbending enough to look eagerly at his mother. Akari lead the children away towards the house, Shun and Hizashi watching from where they stood.

“Do you think she could be the one?” Shun murmured from the side of his mouth, and up ahead Akari twitched. Although the girl was out of hearing range for a human, Akari had the same hearing as all of their kind. She’d heard his question easily.

“Perhaps.” Hizashi replied noncommittally.

* * *

Kyoya smuggled the cellphone from his father’s office and upstairs to his own room. He had very much enjoyed Alpha Tsuna’s visit, but been somewhat distracted by Kusakabe-oji’s question for the second half of the day. Now that Kusakabe-oji was escorting the female alpha back to her home, Kyoya wanted to get the answer to the question. He unlocked the phone and dialed the memorized phone number quickly.

The phone rang exactly once. Kyoya didn’t give the person on the other end time to speak.

“Get home, Carnivore.” He ordered. Then Kyoya hung up and turned off the phone. That should bring the Carnivore running, he thought with a smirk.

* * *

* * *

Author note: (putting it here because whenever I put an end-note on the first chapter, it keeps posting at the end of all the other chapters too...blech @.@) [I now know how to fix this, thanks to people who helped me out with that! I will fix the issue as soon as I post next chapter!]

Sorry for those who got the 'update' notification, I was just trying to figure out how to add the picture to this chapter. Big Shout-out to Khan to Elessar, who wrote a how-to article that I actually understood! Woot!

I meant to write chapter two, and when I went back to read through chapter one to remind myself of where I was at in this story...this scene kept bugging me until I drew it. Spent all night until about 6:30 AM putting this together. Really hope you like it! Well, off to work on chapter 2..will try to post soon-ish. Hopefully by Monday, but no promises.  
  
I meant to make them chibis but...they sort of ended up halfway between chibi and regular. >.<

Soo...I tried to write Tsuna and Kyoya as kids, but I made them mini-geniuses. Which is totally not because I fail utterly at writing kid-speak...like, at all. Also, I really wanted to play with a version of Tsuna that speaks Kyoya-ese. I didn't originally intend to write the first part from everyone except Tsuna's POV, but Kyoya took over right from the very beginning. I tried to add all the tags I could think of that might fit this story. Hopefully I got it right. 

Does anyone else get a great scene in their head and then have to slog through everything else? I have two great scenes for this story, it's just getting to them that's a pain. Hopefully the first one will pop up either next chapter or the one after that. 

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Until next time:

Wingzrooke 


	2. Ch 2:

* * *

* * *

“Riiiiiing!” a phone rang out obnoxiously, echoing in the silent house. Cursing, Fon grabbed the phone and answered, dodging a bunch of knives that came flying his way. There was a reason Fon usually silenced his phone while on a job. Only two numbers were never muted. Those numbers belonged to Hibari Hizashi, his brother-in-law, and Hibari Akari (his sister) respectively. Before Fon could say anything, a voice was already speaking. He recognized it immediately as Kyoya, despite the boy not talking to him for over a year. When Kyoya froze someone out, he did it whole-heartedly.

“Get home, Carnivore.” Kyoya ordered. Then the line went dead. Fon cursed again and used his storm flames to disintegrate all of the guards coming at him down the hallway. This gave him enough of a breather to auto-dial Hizashi’s phone. No one answered. Fon didn’t bother to try his sister’s number. If it was enough of an emergency for Kyoya to call him, his sister likely couldn’t answer.

_“I’d better wrap this up quickly.”_ He thought grimly. It was the work of a mere moment more for Fon to make his way down the hallway to his target’s bedroom. Naturally the man was no longer asleep, the shouting of the guards and the ringing of the phone likely having woken him. No matter, Fon was both a professional and a master at martial arts. Plus he had storm flames. There was nothing this man could throw at him that Fon could not handle. In between one breath and the next Fon withdrew a knife from inside his sleeve. A breath more and the knife’s handle protruded from his target’s chest. The man gasped almost-silently. Fon stalked forward, removed the knife, then pushed a knife-shaped lick of storm flame through the hole in the man’s chest. The flame flowed into the man’s chest and surrounded his heart. Then the flame crushed inwards, dissolving the entire heart.

“The Triads send their greetings, traitor.” Fon whispered into the man’s ear as instructed while the light left the man’s eyes. Having concluded his assignment, Fon exited through the man’s window. Thankfully the rest of the man’s guards were all inside trying to find the intruder, so Fon made it off the property without encountering anyone else. The assignment behind him, Fon removed his phone and sent a text to his handler.

**Finished the job.**

**Will be taking some personal time for my Clan.**

Almost immediately the man’s reply came through.

**_Understood._ **

**_Will hold any jobs that are not time-sensitive._ **

Now assured there would be no interruptions, Fon turned his body and his mind to getting to the Hibari Clan Home. His fastest trip before had taken three days. Fon was betting he could do better than that, this time.

* * *

The alarm rang much earlier than normal. Tsuna growled at it, highly tempted to grab the annoyance and throw it at the wall. She was (mostly) a good girl, though. So instead she smashed the ‘off’ button and dragged herself out of the covers. Yesterday Kyoya got to school before her. Today Tsuna was determined to beat him there. After throwing her clothes on and her hair up into her customary ponytails, Ri dragged herself down to the kitchen.

“Good morning, Tsuna-chan! You’re up early!” Her mama cheered. Tsuna replied in an unintelligible grumble, quietly taking the ‘wake-up tea’ and cups to the table. Once that was there, she quickly set the table. Kaa-san still wasn’t finished with making breakfast by that time, so Tsuna seated herself and poured a mug of the tea. She’s already finished her first cup of tea and was partway through her second when there was a knock at the door. Since her Kaa-san was still cooking, Tsuna went and opened the door.

“Ohayōgozaimasu, Tou-san.” Tsuna mumbled to the man on the other side. Their next-door neighbor, Shang Ryū, smiled cheerfully down at six year old girl.

“Ohayō, Tsuna-chan.” He laughed good-naturedly at the tired girl. Tsuna squinted suspiciously up at the man. He seemed far to chipper for this early in the morning. Since Tsuna took after him when it came to not being a morning person, his being awake this early was rather suspicious. She didn’t see anything unusual. Her ‘Tou-san’ was of average height for a Chinese man, about five foot, six and a half inches tall. She knows this because she’d asked previously. He wasn’t skinny or fat, but rather lean. He looked to be somewhere in his twenties or thirties, although he always managed to weasel out of answering the question, to Tsuna’s irritation. Nana just laughed at his refusal to tell how old he is.

He tended to look like an average Japanese businessman, except for the long hair which he wore in the Ji style, with a traditional Zan stick through the bun to hold it in place atop his head. She’d never seen him with his hair down. Supposedly it was because he was raised in a very traditional family, despite not being a Taoist priest or practitioner. He had brown eyes, most of the time, but Tsuna knows his eyes sometimes turn Amber-Orange, much like her own. Since they both had Sky flames, that hardly surprised her, though.

It was her ‘Tou-san’ that taught her all about her flames and had finally convinced her Kaa-san to send her to a local martial arts school for lessons a couple of months ago. Tsuna and Shang had been attempting to convince her Kaa-san to let Tsuna take lessons since she was four years old. Tsuna didn’t like to think about the incident which had caused her to seek out ways of defending herself, though. Instead she continued to stand in the doorway, squinting suspiciously at Shang.

“What’s with the suspicion?” Shang laughed at her.

“Why’re you so— _energetic_ —this morning?” Tsuna demanded. Shang laughed and ruffled her hair. Tsuna grumbled at the man.

“Just happy this morning. Your Kaa-san told me you made some friends at school yesterday. I’m glad it wasn’t as terrible as you thought it would be.” Shang grinned at her. Tsuna harrumphed, but moved back to let him in. Shang entered and exchanged his outside shoes for indoor slippers before following Tsuna back to the table.

“Kaa-san, Tou-san is here!” Tsuna yelled as she followed him.

“He’s not your Tou-san! Please call Ryū-san by the appropriate name!” Nana scolded.

“It’s alright, Sawada-san. I really don’t mind. You can call me Shang, if you want.” Ryū-san offered. Nana brought the breakfast foods to the table as he was speaking. She beamed at the man.

“Then you must call me Nana.” She declared while taking her seat. Shang smiled gently back at his neighbor. “I’m glad you can join us when you’re not out of town on business.” Nana continued once they’d said the prayer. “It’s sad to think of you eating all your meals alone.” She added after swallowing.

“I certainly appreciate not having to cook.” Shang admitted. After that, it was mostly silent aside from the sounds of chewing and swallowing. It was usually silent during breakfast, regardless of whether Shang was there or not since neither he nor Tsuna were morning people. Both adults were rather pleased with Tsuna’s tolerance today, despite her being up earlier than normal. By this point she normally would be irritated by all the noise so early. Nana would have been happy to chatter, of course. She kept it quiet normally out of respect for her breakfast companions.

Once breakfast was finished, they shared the chore of clearing off the table and washing up. Tsuna cleared the table, her Tou-san washed dishes, and Nana helped with drying. Tsuna finished her job before the other two, so she quickly got a sponge and wiped down the table and kitchen counters. When their morning routine was finally finished, the trio gathered together and switched their house slippers for shoes. Tsuna finished first, practically bouncing as she waited impatiently for the adults to finish. They parted from Shang just outside the front gate, Tsuna waving cheerfully as she walked in the opposite direction with her kaa-san.

“Have a good day at work, Tou-san!” she called, and he waved back.

“You too, little Hime! Work hard today!” He replied with a laugh. Nana just waved for a moment. Soon they turned around the block and headed towards the elementary school. Unlike yesterday, Tsuna barely glanced at her Kaa-san when they reached her classroom. She snuck her hand from her Kaa-san’s, and impatiently shucked her jacket and shoes at the shoe rack. When she looked around to see if Kyo-kun was there, she was pleased to see she’d made it before him. Naturally Tsuna found the tallest object she could (the shoe box) and climbed up on top of it. Nana greeted the senseis to let them know Tsuna was present, and then left with a laugh and a wave for her ‘little monkey’. The Senseis didn’t seem to think it as cute as kaa-san did. Immediately one of them, her name-tag said ‘Hina-Sensei’, stalked over and tried to order Tsuna down.

Tsuna stuck up her nose, she didn’t listen to herbivores! The Sensei then tried to haul Tsuna down. This didn’t go quite the way Hina-Sensei wanted either. Seeing a hand reaching out for her, Tsuna immediately bit it, making growling noises as she did. The teacher screeched and flailed around a bit, trying to remove the child. It should be noted this is not appropriate child-care practice. Tsuna, as she was lifted off the shoebox by the flailing, immediately wrapped herself around the teacher’s arm like a little Koala.

“Let go this instant, young lady!” The Sensei scolded, still trying to shake the kid off. Before Tsuna could reply, another tiny little body slammed into the back of Hina-Sensei’s knees, causing the teacher to collapse.

“Kyoya-sama!” A reedy voice piped up, sounding worried. Tsuna looked down a short ways to find Kyo-kun buried partially under the Sensei’s body.

“Ohayo, Kyo-kun!” Tsuna greeted. “Good timing!” She added. Kyoya grunted back at her from where his face was mashed into the carpet. Then Tetsuya and the other Sensei arrived, Tetsuya trying to shove Hina-Sensei off poor Kyo-kun, who managed to wriggle onto his back and kick at Hina-Sensei’s back until the woman got off on her own. The other Sensei, her tag said ‘Aneko-Sensei’, reached into the pile and pulled Tsuna off Hina-Sensei. Aneko-Sensei placed Tsuna back on her feet and then reached out a hand to Hina-Sensei to pull the other woman to her feet. The two Senseis were a study in opposites.

Aneko-Sensei was tall where Hina-Sensei was short. Aneko-Sensei had blue eyes, Hina-Sensei had brown. Hina-Sensei was on the more tan end of the spectrum where Aneko-Sensei was on the fairer side. Their co-workers would tell you it didn’t stop there. The two even tended to dress opposite. Hina-Sensei tended to wear dresses while Aneko-Sensei tended to wear slacks and plain colored tops. Where Aneko-Sensei’s personality was somewhat more tolerant and laid-back, Hina-Sensei tended to be more strict and ‘by-the-book’.

“What happened here?” Aneko-Sensei asked of the group as Kyoya got to his feet.

“She grabbed at me!” Tsuna immediately shouted, sounding and looking quite put out.

“I was trying to get Sawada-chan down from atop the shoe-rack. She refused to come down when I told her too, so I was trying to assist her in getting down.” Hina-Sensei corrected with a sniff.

“That herbivore was trying to fling Alpha across the room, so I helped Tsuna-Alpha.” Kyoya-kun sniffed, looking disdainfully at Hina-Sensei.

“I see. Didn’t you learn better than to grab Sawada-chan yesterday, Hina?” Aneko-Sensei sighed. “And Sawada-chan, biting is against the rules. Hibari-kun, tackling others is also against the rules. You will both sit in time-out for five minutes.” Aneko added, guiding both children back over to the corner where the two metal chairs still sat. Both children narrowed their eyes as they looked at her calculatingly.

“Don’t make me call your parents. You wouldn’t want to leave this early on only your second day, would you?” Aneko-Sensei scolded. Tsuna and Kyoya exchanged looks and then grudgingly took a seat on a chair a piece. Tetsuya took up position a short ways away, holding up a piece of wall.

“Kusakabe-kun, you don’t need to sit in time-out, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Aneko-Sensei sighed but smiled at Tetsuya nevertheless.

“I stay with Hibari-Sama and Tsuna-chan.” The little boy informed the Sensei in a calm tone. Shrugging, Aneko-Sensei left him to stand with them. Both Senseis left to see to the other children. Left unattended, there were a couple messes to clean up. While they were stuck in time-out, the children spent their time plotting the testing of the other class. Tetsuya was of the opinion they should wait until last break to test the final class, that way if they got sent home they wouldn’t miss much. The other two grudgingly agreed to this plan.

“Kaa-san got a call from your Otou-san last night, Tets-kun.” Tsuna announced after the previous topic was worn out. Tetsuya made an inquiring noise, head tilting slightly to the side. “To arrange the joint fighting lessons. I’m to join you both tonight for a trial-run. Kaa-san is so picky about fighting lessons!” Tsuna imparted.

“Picky?” Tetsuya inquired. Tsuna nodded emphatically.

“Yeah. It’s taken me and Tou-san _forever_ to convince Kaa-san to let me take lessons. But now she’s letting me.”

“These will be your first lessons?” Kyoya demanded incredulously. Tsuna shook her head.

“No, I started a couple months ago.” She corrected mildly. Kyoya didn’t seem to know what to say to this, so he stayed silent. If Tetsuya would have said anything would never be known, because Aneko-Sensei called out to have them join the rest of the class just then. The two children re-joined the class, and Tetsuya was introduced. The rest of the day was very boring for the three children. It was boring for Tetsuya and Kyoya because they’d already studied this material at home. It was boring for Tsuna because she’d picked up how to read and count at home while learning to cook from her Kaa-san. The day seemed to drag on and the two younger children silently resolved to go ahead with the testing of another class during lunch instead of last period. They sat next to each other during class, so it was no problem for Tsuna to turn to Kyoya and murmur

“Lunch?” at him. He nodded solemnly. Tetsuya, now sitting behind Kyoya, was left out of the short exchange and so wasn’t prepared when the time for lunch came. As soon as they were excused for lunch, Tsuna and Kyoya bolted from the room to the cafeteria. Their thinking being that if anything could make an Omnivore show itself, it would be a threat to it’s meal. Naturally, they both had the time of their lives and started a food-fight. Unfortunately for all the other children, Kyoya and Tsuna were Carnivores and therefore won in quick order.

Both children were pleased to find three omnivores among the other two classes, thus making six new pack members. Tetsuya, good omnivore that he was, left little seeds of Mist Flame on each of the children faced by the new Alpha and Beta of Namimori Elementary. No child would be tattling on Kyoya-sama or Tsuna-chan. He also surrounded the cafeteria monitors with Mist so they didn’t notice anything going on. Both of the monitors drifted off into the kitchen while the fight was taking place. After the fight Tetsuya ushered both of his charges to the bathrooms back in the hallway and had them clean up. Knowing Kyoya as he did, Tetsuya had already prepared a change of clothing for all three of them, so the three children cleaned up. While they were in the bathrooms, the cafeteria monitors returned to the cafeteria to find the remains of the fight.

“I can’t believe there are three omnivores in every class except ours.” Tsuna grumbled to Kyo-kun as they returned to the cafeteria. Kyoya, looking displeased, nodded.

“In could see about having the other omnivores traded into our class.” Tetsuya, always looking for ways to make Kyoya’s life easier, suggested.

“Do it.” Tsuna ordered firmly. “It will be a lot easier for us to train the omnivores properly if they’re in the same class as us this year.” Kyoya nodded to show his agreement, so Tetsuya texted his father on his phone while his leaders picked up lunches and then went outside. Since they were the only ones not caught in the aftermath of the food fight, the monitors allowed them to go outside. All the other children were stuck cleaning up the cafeteria.

* * *

“Akari, have you seen my phone?” Hizashi called from underneath the desk in his office.

“No, Anata1. Have you tried under your desk?” She called back from her own office across the hallway. Climbing out from under said desk, Hizashi grumbled.

“I have, it’s not there.”

“Want me to call it?” She offered.

“If you would.” There was silence for a few moments while Akari dialed the number.

“It went straight to voicemail.” She informed him with a sigh. Hizashi cursed. “Have you tried asking Shun if he’s seen it?” She suggested next.

“That would be rather counter-productive, as I was hoping to use my phone to contact him. He’s at City Hall again today. He’s taking care of some business there while waiting to see if Kyoya’s school asks us to take him home again.” Hizashi replied dryly.

“If it’s something simple, I could loan Yua to you today. We’ve got a light load today, with all the children working on their schooling and whatnot. Plus we just met a deadline and are waiting on the next set of books from the editors.”

“I suppose.” Hizashi sighed. He really did prefer working with Shun, who was used to Hizashi’s needs and could anticipate them. He grumbled again under his breath, making short work of writing out a list. When Yua entered the office, Hizashi thrust the list at her before snatching it back and writing down a few more things.

“Also, please have Shun pick me up a new phone. He knows the types I like.” Hizashi ordered the woman. Kusakabe Yua grinned.

“I’ll text Anata and ask him to pick one up on his way home.” The woman agreed. Hizashi waved her off and returned to his spreadsheets. He’d just managed to get back into ‘the flow’ of working when the doorbell rang. Of course the housekeeper would answer the door, but no one who would ring the doorbell got this far into the compound without the Heads of the family being told first.

“Omae1, are we expecting anyone?” Hizashi wondered.

“Not that I know of, Anata.” Akari responded. Frowning, Hizashi left his desk and strode to the door in time to hear their housekeeper give an indignant cry. Akari immediately at his heals, Hizashi sprinted down the hallway to the entrance room. He nearly bowled over Fon, who was running towards them from the opposite direction. Hizashi and Fon both put on the brakes, but Akari couldn’t see Fon from behind Hizashi and ran full-tilt into Hizashi’s back.

“Fon? I thought you were on a job? What are you doing back so early?” Hizashi exclaimed.

“Kyoya called me. Made it seem like some sort of emergency…?” Fon explained quickly.

“I guess we know where my phone went. There’s no emergency that I know of.” Hizashi replied dryly. Fon looked to Akari, who shook her head.

“There really isn’t, Nii-san.” Akari apologized. “Though, if I had to guess, Kyoya probably wants to see you spar his new friend.” She added with a chuckle.

“Kyoya made a friend?” Fon gaped.

“It’s more like a friend chose Kyoya and dragged him into friendship kicking and screaming, so he’s decided to _own_ this friendship business.” Hizashi corrected with a snort. Fon’s eyebrows raised incredulously.

“Someone else convinced Kyoya to be their friend when he didn’t want to? I highly doubt that, somehow…” Fon drawled.

“Come along, Otouto (little brother), and I will tell you what we know of the beginnings of Kyoya’s new friendship while we wait for the children to come back from school.” Akari wheedled, leading the way to the sitting room.

* * *

Fon, his Nee-san (big/older sister), and his giri no otouto (younger brother-in-law) were enjoying their tea and chatting when Kusakabe Tetsuya-kun entered the sitting room. The boy looked strangely excited. Previously Fon had only ever seen him emulating his father with the typical Kusakabe calm and collected air and expression. Today his eyes seemed to spark with his lightning flames, and they seemed to radiate off him invisibly.

“Forgive me for intruding, Hibari-samas, Fon-sama. Kyoya-sama requests Fon join our pack in the back garden sparring area.” The youngest Kusakabe announced, bowing. Akari looked to be laughing silently, though only her eyes gave her away. On the other hand Hizashi sighed and made a shooing motion at Fon.

“We won’t have any peace until Kyoya gets what he wants. It shouldn’t take long. The girl is talented, I’ll grant, but she hasn’t been learning long enough to give _you_ any trouble defeating her.” His giri no otouto (younger brother-in-law) huffed. Feeling amused, Fon bowed his head slightly to his acknowledged External, or Lead Alpha. As he followed the younger Kusakabe, he wondered what Kyoya’s new little friend would be like. He’d gained Hizashi and Akari’s perspective on the child while they waited. Now he would get to judge for himself. He hoped the girl would be a good influence on Kyoya, although so far it didn’t seem like the boy’s parents had seen such an influence.

Kyoya, having become impatient, joined them partway down the path to the garden. Fon nodded amicably to his nephew, who bowed his head slightly. Silent greetings exchanged, Fon looked his nephew over. The boy looked much as he always did, but there was a lightness and excitement to him that Fon hadn’t seen in a long time. It would seem Akari had the right of it. For now, at least, having a new friend was doing Kyoya well. So long as that friend continued to make Kyoya happy, no intervention was necessary, he decided.

Then the three of them rounded the corner of the garden path which hid the concrete sparring area from view, and Fon’s heart stopped. The girl was standing in the middle of the pad, head tilted thoughtfully as she listened to what the martial arts Sensei said. He ignored the Sensei and what he was saying though, because the instant he saw her, his mark burned around his arm and the left side of his chest. The tattoo-like dragon seemed to writhe up his arm and over where his heart was, forming a circle around it.

His nostrils flared as wide as they could in human form, the air he inhaled through nose and mouth seeming to coat his senses like the most wonderful thing he’d ever smelled or tasted. His gaze sharpened, despite his pupils dilating, focused entirely on her. Although Kyoya was still beside him, Fon didn’t even register his nephew anymore. The girl met his gaze head-on, the smile fading as she registered him.

“Oh.” She whispered softly, eyes widening. The back of his mind was weeping, half was weeping because she was so much younger than him. Barely starting elementary school. The other half was weeping because he’d finally met her and he was cursed into the form of an infant. He was not even sure if she could feel the connection like he could. It was extremely rare for one of their kind’s soulmate to be born outside the Triads and Clans. She likely had no soul mark, unlike him. The girl stumbled towards him, and he prayed she didn’t trip because there was no way he could catch her in this tiny body.

She fell to her knees just in front of him, bringing her face much closer to his own. One of her hands reached towards him, and Fon nearly vibrated with the energy surging through him. He forced himself to hold still, though. He didn’t want to scare her away. Her small hand gently drifted down onto his chest, right over where the head of his dragon-shaped mark rested on his left pec.

“You call to me.” She whispered, and his world lit in amber and orange flames. He gasped in awe, stunned as his soulmates Sky flames wrapped around him.

* * *

* * *

1 - According to my research, Anata and Omae are terms of endearment between a husband and wife, with Anata usually being used by the wife for the husband and Omae being used by the husband for the wife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was waiting to post this chapter until I got a piece of art done to go with it, but I decided I didn't want to add the art, so I posted today.
> 
> I really didn’t intend the whole scene with Fon and the Hibari parents. It was really only supposed to be two humorous lines in the middle of the story about Hizashi wondering where his phone was….then, as usual, the characters took over and decided they and Fon needed their own complete scene.  
> Also, this chapter was like Kyoya: it came kicking and screaming, but I conquered the chapter in the end. Seriously, the only part that came easily was the part where Fon and Tsuna met…and that was already written before the rest of the story!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsuna gets a guardian, Kyoya gets Jealous, the Hibari Main house gets beaten up, and Akari gets to tell a story.

* * *

* * *

Tsuna was listening to her new Sensei when she felt an odd tugging sensation on her flames. At first she ignored the feeling, she wanted to impress her new Sensei. Not paying attention to the man would not create a good impression. The longer she ignored it, however, the stronger the feeling got. Finally she turned to see Kyoya returning from wherever he’d gone, with both Tetsuya and a stranger. Her gaze locked on the stranger and her flames sung in joy. The feeling was much like that her tou-san had described to her. It was the same sort of feeling he’d described having when he’d met her mother. The smile faded from her face, a feeling of awe surging through her. She hadn’t expected to find a match like her Kaa-san and Tou-san. She knew they were incredibly rare. Not to mention meeting each other so young…it was practically unheard of!

As soon as her mind registered the meaning of what she was feeling, Tsuna immediately moved towards him, stumbling in a show of unusual clumsiness. Her mind was so consumed with the feeling coursing through her that she didn’t even spare a thought for what everyone else might make of the sight of her clumsiness. When she finally reached him, Tsuna found her legs giving out under her, causing her to almost collapse onto the ground before her tiny soulmate.

Before her, his tiny form trembled the slightest bit, but Tsuna could see the effort in holding himself as still as he could. He would not be the first to reach out to her. That was okay, Tsuna would be brave enough for both of them. She was an Alpha, after all! She reached out to him, her hand automatically hovering over his heart.

“You call to me.” She murmured, the same words her tou-san had once said to her kaa-san. Then her flames ignited. She didn’t know how Tou-san had survived being rejected by her Kaa-san’s flames, as Kaa-san already had a Sky. If someone else had claimed her soulmate…Tsuna was sure she would die. To her delight, his flames (Storm flames! Her soulmate was a Storm!) rose eagerly to meet hers. It was amazing to Tsuna how much information she received merely from feeling his flames.

For example, his flames conveyed his age. Although he looked like a toddler at best or even an infant, his flames told her he was an adult. They told her how happy and amazed he was to be her Guardian now. At the same time…there were less good things they told her.

They were hesitant to approach the possibility of bonding, as though they’d been rebuffed many times by previous Skies. Tsuna felt sorrow for his pain, because rejection hurt quite a lot. Somehow she also felt gladness that he was all hers. Joy filled her that unlike Tou-san, she would not have to fight another Sky’s claim on her soulmate. The latter feelings caused her cloud and mist flames to twine into their bond, and she saw everyone else’s eyebrows raising, some jaws even dropped open, and Fon also felt extremely startled through their bond.

“Tri-flamed…” He breathed. Tsunako looked down shyly.

“Is that…okay?” She whispered. Tou-san had warned her others might not respect her Sky flames as much, because a lot of people felt Sky flames should stand alone in a person. That a Sky with other flames types would not be able to bond with those corresponding Guardians. Or shouldn’t, whether or not they were capable of taking said Guardians. Not that Tsuna would let other people’s opinions stop her, but she didn’t want her soulmate to look at her like that. Like she was inferior or incomplete somehow.

“More than okay. It’s amazing. You are so strong, qīnài de (beloved/dear love).” He reassured her quietly, his tiny arms coming up to hug her. She obligingly drew him closer to herself, bringing him to stand on her lap as she did so. His arms wound around her neck, his face nuzzling gently into the hollow between her neck and shoulder. She giggled a little, unable to help herself as his breath tickled her. Above his head, Tsuna noted the Hibari-samas ushering away the Sensei and Tets-kun. That was probably a good idea. It was a very new bond, after all. She felt her cloud flames burn in her eyes at the thought of someone trying to take her new Guardian away. She would burn them to the ground if they tried!

“Ah, Tsuna-chan is Alpha Sawada Tsunako-chan. May I have your name, my Guardian?” She asked softly (just as Tou-chan had taught), gaze softening and going amber as she looked down at the top of his head. He nodded once, backing up slightly and hopping off her legs to stand before her once more. Tsuna felt oddly bereft, and couldn’t help the way her lip pouted out slightly. He bowed deeply to her, arms folded respectfully before himself.

“This one is Miyazaki Fon, formerly of the Miyazaki Clan and now a member of the Hibari Clan through our sister Akari’s marriage to the Hibari Lead Alpha, Hibari Hizashi.” The tiny man introduced himself.

“Fon, I am sorry to interrupt, but why don’t you and your new Sky come to the family dining room? She hasn’t had her after-school snack yet. That way you can get to know each other better and she won’t be out in the open like this.” Akari-sama called. One side of Tsuna’s mouth quirked in amusement at the thought of herself being in danger simply from standing in the Hibari training grounds. As though Kyoya or any of his Clan would allow harm to come to her on their land or in their presence.

It seemed Fon agreed with the thought, though, for he gently took her hand and pulled her determinedly in the direction of the main house. She looked up, in exasperation, to Kyoya. To her surprise, Kyoya’s lips were pulled back into a snarl and he looked rather like he’d like to take a bite out of someone. Waiting with Kyo-kun at the entrance to the training area, Tets-kun held a restraining arm on Kyo-kun.

“Coming, Kyo-kun?” Tsuna called. She didn’t want to cause problems in Kyo’s relationships with his family, after all. Maybe he resented her for joining his Clan? Perhaps if she showed he wouldn’t be left out, he wouldn’t be so angry. The instant Tsuna called for him, Kyoya came bounding over. Tets-kun stayed where he was, and then moved back and away quickly before the group reached his position. Her Kyo-kun wound his way between Tsunako and her Fon. A small grumble came from her Cloud and Sky flames, but Kyo-kun was _hers_ , even if he wasn’t currently her Guardian. With tolerance she allowed her Beta to wind an arm around one of hers. She watched in surprise as Kyo-kun glared suspiciously at Fon and showed his teeth.

For his part, Fon replied by smiling back at Kyo-kun in a smile that was more a bearing of teeth than an actual gesture of goodwill. He didn’t do anything else to Kyo-kun, though, and Tsuna felt a bit relieved. Tets-kun continued backing away, and eventually turned and left in a direction that was nowhere near the main house.

“So, you’re my Kyo-kun’s Oji?(uncle)” Tsuna wondered, and Fon nodded. Kyoya growled under his breath a little, but didn’t correct her.

“Yes. Kyoya called me here to test your fighting prowess. None of us expected you and I to be such a good match that we would bond instantly, though.” Fon agreed calmly. Tsuna smiled at the news.

“Kyo-kun set up a spar for me? How thoughtful of Kyo-kun!” She grinned. Their group had reached the front entranceway of the main house by this point. They all paused as Kyoya grumbled something unintelligible, a light dusting of pink along his cheekbones. Akari-sama interrupted a pair of Hibari servants from a side hallway, stopping them from entering the room. With a quick whispered conference, Akari-sama sent the servants away. Probably to inform the chef of the need for after-school snacks, if Tsuna had to guess.

“Kyoya, Tsuna-chan? What are you children doing back here so early? Did the lessons not go well?” Tets-kun’s father asked as he drew near to them. Several things happened at once. From on the porch, Tets-kun called frantically to his father. The Hibari Alpha pair, Hizashi and Akari, turned with horrified eyes to see how close to Tsuna Shun Kusakabe was, and Fon reacted to what his instincts declared a threat to his Sky. Hizashi-sama surged towards Kyo-kun, and Akari-sama lunged towards the Kusakabe. That was all the time Tsuna had to notice before her attention was seized by Fon.

Suddenly Fon exploded upwards, lips pulled back from his teeth and snarling. At first it seemed like he was stretching, and then Tsuna realized he wasn’t stretching, but _growing._ In all directions. He also seemed to be transforming. His hands came forward to rest on the ground, now huge and scaly. Each hand had three long fingers and a thumb, tipped in big wicked curved claws that resembled a cat’s claws. His midsection and legs moved backwards until he was standing on all four, his back legs looking exactly like his arms. The middle of his body kept stretching out longer even after the rest of him had stopped growing, until there was hardly any room for him in the room.

Snarling still came from his mouth, but now it was much deeper and seemed to reverberate around her. The room itself shook with the noise. Faster than Tsuna could see, the mid-section of the now-Dragon wrapped around her, moving her away from the newcomer. Tsuna just blinked, startled but not terribly worried.

Though he looked and sounded pants-wettingly terrifying, she knew he was still her Fon. She could feel as much through their bond. Of course, she could also feel his _terrible_ rage, but she knew it was directed in protection of her and not towards her. Then, to her surprise, he further transformed. Wings burst from his back just above where he coiled around her. He opened his wings and folded them around her, creating a small cave with coil and wings where she could be safe.

Tsuna peered between a tiny crack between the two wings. Her eyes widened as she watched Fon lower his head, open his mouth, and with a roar Storm flames exploded out of his mouth like water from a fireman’s hose. In seconds the house in front of them had been vaporized.

She noted that all the others in the room had vacated the premises sometime while she’d been watching his transformation, because she could see them safely standing to either side of his flames out in the yard. A feeling of relief at Kyo-kun being safe filled her alongside her awe at her new Guardian. She could see Kyo-kun being held back by his father, who had to use both arms to restrain the furious Cloud. Her eyes met Kyoya’s, and the boy calmed as he saw his Alpha was safely ensconced in his Uncle’s wings.

After a few minutes, and no sign of the flame stopping, Tsuna wiggled her way out of the little cocoon (despite Fon’s attempt to keep her there and safely protected), and carefully climbed up until she was next to one great horse-like ear. Gently she scratched her fingers around the soft, velvety ears and moved her mouth next to the ear’s opening.

“Fon.” She whispered softly. “It’s okay. Come back to me. They’re far away, now. There’s no danger.” She promised sweetly. He peeked at her from the corner of one of his great big eyes, and Tsuna smiled gently at him.

“It’s okay.” She promised again. Slowly the flames died out, and then he was transforming backwards, a huge Dragon melting back into a toddler-sized man. His face was flushed, and he wouldn’t meet her eyes.

An awkward silence seemed to fill the room, neither of them or the people outside breaking it. Kyoya’s immediate family slowly approached, and Tsuna watched them from the corners of her eyes. Fon’s shoulders hunched under their combined eyes.

“So, a dragon huh? Are you a dragon who takes human form, or a human who takes dragon form? Can you turn into anything else?

“My apologies. I was not expecting unknown people approaching you to trigger a rage. I’m normally much more composed.” He promised her in a soft murmur, voice filled with shame.

“It happens.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Plus it’s probably because the bond is so new. My Tou-san said newly bonded guardians are always super-touchy around outsiders. Our immediate families, except my kuso oyaji (crappy old man). If he comes around at any time, he’ll probably trigger your instincts to protect.”

“You call your tou-san a crappy old man?” Kusakabe Shun asked, and Tsuna noted he’d been smart enough this time to stay near where the entrance to the house used to be.

“Nah, just my sperm donor. My tou-san isn’t related to me by blood, but I wish he was. I’m pretty sure that Kaa-san only married Iemitsu ‘cuz she couldn’t resist the Sky Attraction he puts off when he wants too. Plus he messed with her mind via mist. Though who he got to do it, I don’t know. If it weren’t for him messing up her mind, I’m pretty sure she would’ve divorced him and married tou-san. He would’ve been a much better Sky for kaa-san. And husband. And he’s already a better tou-san. Oyaji hasn’t been home since before I was born.” She huffed at Tetsuya. Fon snarled slightly at her words, and his family retreated slightly. Tsuna gestured them forwards. She knew Fon wouldn’t hurt them just for being near her, unlike those who were neither her guardians, or his and her good blood relatives.

“Talk of Dragons is not something that should be had out in the open. Let us continue on to the dining room.” Akari-sama directed, drawing everyone away from their shock and back towards their purpose like a good hostess and female Alpha. Tsuna gently curled one of her hands through Fon’s, gently tugging him in the direction Akari-sama was headed. Fon stuck close to her side, still looking chagrined. Kyoya looked like he wanted to come between them once more. His father cautiously released Kyo-kun, now that the danger had passed.

When Kyoya made to slip between Tsuna and her Guardian, Tsuna shook her head firmly at the boy. Who, ridiculous and proud Beta that he was, pouted at her. Baring her teeth back at him (a mannerism she’d picked up from the boy in question), Tsuna jerked her head towards her other side. Begrudgingly Kyo-kun came to stand where she’d indicated, and Tsuna felt relief that he wasn’t going to move Fon away from her. Her new Guardian was already distressed. She didn’t feel like finding out how adding Kyo-kun to that mess would effect Fon.

They all stayed silent during the quick trip. The family dining room was placed in the very heart of the main house, more towards the front than the back. It was a room Tsuna had yet to see, not having been family the day before and therefore not getting the ‘complete’ tour a new Hibari Clan Member would get. As they entered, she looked around the room curiously, not surprised in the least to see how traditional the room was.

The room had the usual tatami-mat flooring, and the walls were all made of the normal wooden frame with rice paper inside, showing through the squares of wood. The doors were also sliding rice-paper-and-wood doors. The room had floor-to-ceiling decorative screens with images of dragons embroidered all over amongst images of the Sky and the Heavens. Tsuna thought the screens were to hide what the servants were doing, normally. Right now there were no servants present, likely to prevent another ‘incident’ like that in the front entryway.

At the center of the room was a low traditional table, with little cushions for kneeling on surrounding it. On the table sat a pot of tea and enough cups for all of the people with them. There were also small plates of various types of snacks arranged around the tea pot. Akari led the way to the table, and Tsuna knelt seiza-style on the brightly colored amber cushion across from the Hibari parents. Kyo-kun sat on Tsuna’s right, and Fon on her left. She noted Fon’s cushion was as red as his potent Storm flames and that Kyo-kun sat on a purple cushion.

Her mind instantly connected their flame-types to the color of their cushions. It wasn’t a hard leap to make. She wondered if they had a more neutral color of cushion for those whose flame-type was unknown. A quick peek under the table showed Tsuna that Akari-sama’s cushion was the traditional blue of rain flames while Hizashi-sama’s cushion was purple like Kyo-kun’s. Unfortunately her ‘peeking’ at the cushions didn’t go unnoticed, and Akari-sama hid a smile behind her hand while Hizashi-sama looked like he was trying to be patient with Tsuna. Curiously, Fon and Kyoya both looked proud of her though.

Silently Fon began to serve her food and tea. Fon carefully poured out the tea (having stood on the table to reach the pot and plates), not answering for the moment, and then gently placed the tea pot down. Akari-sama took the tea pot next to serve the rest of the family (including Fon). Meanwhile Fon picked up and offered the various plates and offered the snacks to her. Tsuna took a little of everything offered to her, like a good guest. Even the things she didn’t really like – despite being Japanese, Tsuna wasn’t all that fond of any food that had nori (seaweed) in it.

She watched Fon note her distaste at the foods that had nori in it when she bit into them and kept a polite expression on her face like a mask. She didn’t think anyone else watched her that closely or noticed, though. When he filled her little plate up again, she noted none of the foods with Nori in them made another appearance. When she’d sated her stomach she turned her face to Fon, who was sipping his own cup of tea and stood on the table next to her (completely ignoring his own cushion in favor of being at eye-height).

“So you’ll tell me about the dragon-thing now?” Tsuna reminded him, and Fon paused before setting his tea-cup down on the table in front of himself.

“Hai, Tsuna-chan.” He agreed softly, looking a little nervous. Still he remained silent, though. It was as though he didn’t know how to start. Gently Tsuna sent reassurance and love through their bond.

“Perhaps it’s best to just get it over with.” Akari-sama suggested practically.

“It’s not just my secret to share…” Fon murmured, flushing slightly under the dual-regard of both his Sky and his sister.

“We’ve all known this time was coming.” Akari-sama reproved gently. Then the woman turned to Tsuna.

“We are neither human nor dragon. All of the Hibari Clan, in fact all of the Triads and its associated Clans are half-dragon and half-human. All of us have a human and a dragon form. This we keep a secret from the rest of the world, who has forgotten us and our sacrifice.” Hibari Akari informed her new Sister-in-law.

“Sacrifice?” Tsuna asked with a frown, and Fon flinched at what he perceived as disapproval in Tsuna’s tone. Tsuna sent more reassurance through the bond while Akari told Tsuna the tale of The Celestial Dragons and the beginnings of The Arcobaleno Curse.

“Long ago, long before even Dragons have written records, there were only the Ancient High Dragons, then called simply ‘Dragons’. They were the first _True_ Dragons, and celestial beings. No one knows where the Celestial Dragons came from. They may have been made by the Gods, they may have been Gods, or they may have been aliens. They never told us. They were the guardians of all the world, it’s protectors and keepers. Their fiercest enemy was the demon, or Youkai. They didn’t worry much about the harmless Youkai, it was those who sought to destroy our world both temporally and physically that the dragons fought.

One day, during a great battle with the Youkai forces, the leader of all the dragons was cursed by a foul demon. The Dragons at first were not overly worried about the curse, for Celestial Dragons are even wiser than we Dragons, and live even longer. The Celestial Dragons thought they would easily be able to find a cure for the curse. However, no matter how long they searched, no matter what they tried, the curse continued to suck the life and flames from the leader of the Celestial Dragons. Worse, the curse began to spread to the planet and the world’s spiritual plane. Then to other Celestial Dragons as well.

The very vitality and essence were being sucked out of the world and the Celestial dragons, gnawing down into their bones with hunger. They could do nothing to protect the world, at first but the seven Celestial Dragons affected had isolated themselves, to prevent other Dragons and Creatures from catching the curse. They only hoped it wouldn’t start affecting others through the curse eating into the world. Though they were not able to find a cure, the Celestial Dragons _were_ able to stop the curse from spreading, eventually. By that time, however, seven Celestial Dragons had already been cursed.

Now that they could safely meet with others, the seven Dragons spread the message far and wide, to all the inhabitants of the world, asking for help in breaking the curse. They kept a small secret, though. They told the other Creatures that the curse ate their life and magic, when in reality it was their life and flames. In reply to the Celestial Dragon’s request for aid, every kind of creature except Demons sent forth an emissary, the best and brightest of them, to gather together and see if a solution could be found.

“We cannot break the curse,” admitted the crafty nine-tailed Kitsune “but we can _trick_ it. We will move the curse onto seven sacrificial victims, so that Dragons may continue to protect our world.” The Kitsune’s words shocked the Dragons, who at first could not accept being the cause of another being harmed.

“You protect our world, the least we can do is protect you in turn in whatever small way we might.” The Pixiu protested. Eventually the seven creatures managed to convince the seven Celestial Dragons of their plan.

“I will create containers the curses will be anchored too.” The Dvergr promised.

“I and my people will move the curse and watch over those who become the sacrifices.” The True Earthling pledged.

“Though we have no magical or spiritual gifts like many of the others here, my six children and I can take on the curse until a cure is found. And if one is not found, our descendants and then our people will take over holding the curse as long as there are dragons in this world.” Pledged the human man. No one else argued, for none of the others wanted to hold the curse. The group disbanded for seven days, during which time the Dvergr, the True Earthling, the Kitsune, the Humans, and the Pixiu prepared to do their part to move the curse.

While the others were preparing as they might, the Human man went back to his family. He informed his sons of what he had volunteered them for. They honored their father’s words. Together the six of them bid farewell to their spouses, their mother, and all their other family members. They did not wish to return to their families, lest the curse be spread.

For their part, the Dragons worried themselves through five of the days. For the Humans did not have flames, and the curse ate flames. Could the curse be successfully transferred and _stay_ attached to the new sacrifices? On the sixth day, one of their number came up with a cunning plan and shared it with the leader of the Dragons.

“It is the least we can do, after they take this curse from us and help to replenish the world’s spiritual flames.” The leader of the Dragons agreed.

Finally, on the seventh day, everyone gathered together once more. The Dverger brought forth the containers he had crafted. The kitsune surrounded the Dragons, the curse, and the containers with their magic, and confused the curse into thinking the containers were the Dragons and the Dragon’s bodies did not exist to them at all. The Pixiu used it’s magic to put a barrier between the curse and everyone else, so that the curse would not spread. The True Earthling used his magic to usher the curse into the new containers. Their part done, the Kitsune departed, along with the majority of the other creatures.

Once the first part was done, the Celestial Dragons moved back while they recovered. The Pixiu warded the containers that the curse may not escape, each container only ever affecting one person at a time and never-again the world. He left after handing off the containers to the True Earthling.

“Thank you for your sacrifice.” The True Earthling whispered, small tears streaming down her face. But her words seemed cold to the Humans, and the eldest of them simply nodded in reply. Once the transfer of curse and containers was complete, the female True Earthling turned away from them and also departed.

“You have done us a great service.” The leader of the Celestial Dragons boomed, looking gratefully and tearfully at the Humans before him. He was disappointed to see that none of the other creatures had offered hospitality to The Cursed, and determined to help them however he could. It was also time to put their plan into action.

“For your courage and willingness to serve, we grant you a gift. A new form, to reflect those you have saved. Though you will always be human, you will have a second form. That of Dragons. That way you will have the best of both worlds. Like us, you will have a destined soul-mate. Though you are half human, so your lives will not be quite as long as ours. You will live much longer than any regular humans. And we grant you use of our flames, that your courage and willingness to help others will never die. Your children, your mates, and all your descendants shall also be half dragon and half human. We will teach you all we may during your time on this world. We will also share our flames with some of your people, that you might not be alone, and that there may be others who can take on the curse after you, should your lines die out.” The leader of the Celestial Dragons promised.

Heading his words, each of the six Celestial Dragons who had been saved came forward and blessed the human who had taken the curse for them with a copy of their own form, and a fraction of their flames. The leader of the Dragons chose the first man to volunteer, the father of the others to bless with his form and flames.

Then the Dragons breathed the secrets of their flames to the people who had received them. The Dragons built beautiful houses of gold, silver, and marble for the Human sacrifices and their families. The families of the new Dragons came to join them, their mates knowing instinctively how to find each other thanks to the new gifts and bringing along their children. The oldest of them all, the one who received Sky Flames from the Leader of the Celestial Dragons, became the very first Emperor of the new Dragons.

When the new Dragons had learned all the Celestial Dragons could teach them, the Celestial Dragons departed to keep fighting Demons wherever they were. All of the other creatures with magic disappeared one after the other. Some through war, some through famine, some through disease, and some through choice. In the end, only the regular Humans, the Humans with Flames, the True Earthlings, and the new Dragons were left. Eventually even the True Earthlings started to disappear, and the cursed artifacts disappeared along with them. Only we who are at least part-Human remain…” Hibari Akari’s voice trailed off at the end of the story.

“The annoying Carnivore is one such cursed individual. Our people thought the cursed relics and the curse itself had been fixed many years ago. That came back to bite us when the Annoying Carnivore went out on a mission and came back with that cursed item.” Kyo-kun added, irritation radiating off him.

“Is that….is that why your form is so small when you’re not a baby? Did you get a regular human soulmate because you are one of the cursed? Does that mean I’ll become half dragon too?” Tsuna asked innocently. Four pairs of eyes stared at her incredulously.

“You … knew? About my age and being soulmates, too…” Fon asked with amazement and gratitude suffusing their bond. Immediately she nodded in agreement.

“Your flames speak of your age. You’re a lot older than a toddler, no matter what size you are.” She explained. A small tear traced its way down Fon’s cheek. Before Tsuna’s alarm at upsetting her Guardian could escalate too far, Fon gave her a look of deep love.

“I am unspeakably grateful that you are my Sky and soulmate. To be honest, I didn’t even know if you would know we are soulmates…” He whispered, and Tsuna flushed slightly.

“Hai (yes). Tou-san told me what it feels like when one meets their soulmate. I didn’t expect to have a soulmate, since so few do, but I knew immediately what I was feeling.” Tsuna agreed. Fon straightened at the reminder of her ‘tou-san’. His face took on a serious cast.

“Tsuna-chan. I want to meet your family. I have heard some… _concerning_ things about them. As your Guardian, I need to make sure they are taking care of you properly. And in the case of your Kaa-san…I need to make sure she is capable of taking care of you properly.” Fon expressed, and Tsuna felt she probably should be insulted at the intimation that her Kaa-san and Tou-san might not be taking good care of her. As though Tsuna would stay with people who didn’t take good care of her! Or would let someone neglect her! She could feel, though, his honest concern and care radiating from his end of the bond.

“Okay, Fon-kun1.” She agreed easily. “Fon-kun should stay with Tsuna-chan for a few days anyways, at least while the bond is still new.” She added. Fon bowed deeply to her.

“As you command, my Sky.” He acquiesced. Tsuna smiled at her Storm, and he blushed. She could hardly wait to introduce her soulmate to her Tou-san!

“Don’t you have something else to tell the Alpha first, Annoying Carnivore?” Kyoya intruded, an oddly triumphant gleam in his eyes.

“Kyoya, no.” Fon growled.

“Kyoya, yes.” Kyo-kun retorted. Still looking like he’d won some sort of argument, Kyo-kun turned to Tsuna and she felt her stomach drop. What would Fon try to hide from her? Especially after they'd already revealed the secrets of his people?

* * *

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay new chapter! It took me awhile to decide what I wanted to follow the end of the last chapter. I think this chapter was a good follow-up. I meant to get to the part where Fon meets Tsuna's family, but it was already nine pages long...anyways, I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> 1 - so, in looking up Japanese endearments, it looks like they don't use pet names like 'love', 'dear', or 'sweet heart' the way English speakers/writers do. Instead couples that are really close either use the first name without honorifics, or add '-kun' or '-chan' to the person's name (depending on gender). So Tsuna calling Fon 'Fon-kun' is a term of endearment and has nothing to do with age. I decided Fon, being part of a Japanese Clan, would be familiar with this and therefore not take offense. 
> 
> Until next time! (hopefully)
> 
> ~ Wingzrooke


End file.
